Ventilating window pane



Aug. 4, 1931. w. R. MCMANN I 1 ,817,494

VENTILATING WINDOW PANE Filed July 28. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR MEFEA/ 6 fizz/10v ag'vmouu-h ATTORNEY Au 4, 1931. w. R. MCMANN 1,817,494-

VENT ILATING WINDOW FANE Filed July 28. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

INVENTOR ATTORNEY tage in some than others, providing in each,

Patented Aug. 4, 1931 "UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE WARREN McMANN, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, OF ONE-HALF HENDERSON, OF NEW YORK, N. 1.

To WILLIAM VENT'ILATING wmnow PANE Application filed July 2a, 1923. Serial No. 295,933.

This invention relates to ventilators in windows, and more particularly s of greatest 1 advantage for ventilation without movement of the window sash. The invention in its particularly advantageous form may be designated as a stationary glass ventilator unit for windows, so devised that as a single pane of glass it can be fitted and puttied into the muntin forming a perfect seal as an ordinary pane of glass, and at the same time provide perfectly clear visibility throughout the area of the pane,thereby in no way diminishing the admission of light nor interfering with the view through the Window.

The practice of my invention provides, furthermore, a stock article which may be out to size for each individual pane opening, is inserted in the muntin with all jointsfor weather protection engaging the muntin in the same manner as panes of glass are fitted, secured and puttied, with the adjustable ventilating means inconspicuous and entirely sealed from visibility by the muntin bar, though always readily accessible for manipulation. It may be applied to double-hung sashes with wood or metal muntins, and to the outer sash or inner sas without interference with the movement'of the sashes, or without interference to'any adjacent objects such as shutters on the outside, orinside shutters or curtains.

The ventilator portion of the paneis embodied in such a manner that the weatherproofness of the window in no way depends upon additional joints in the glass of the pane, nor any additional cross-pane brace which would cause additional chance of leakage or breakage.

In the case of various types of windows, this inventionis of more particular advancase the clear-visibility feature and one hundred per cent. li of certain forms of tilting windows, the ventilator pane offers nointerference whatsoever in operating the sashes and may be put in a single pane with the lower outside and an upper inside ventilator. Likewise, in the matter of casement windows, one or more panes are made withithis invention having of I, showing the bend ht admission. In the case in a single pane an outward swell providing the ventilating aperture at the bottom, and

an inward swell providing the ventilating aperture at the top." Thus with a minimum of offsetof the'glass pane a maximum of'ventilating area is attained still preserving the full advantage of one hundred per cent.

visibility. v V

Particular forms of embodiment of my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings,in which:

Fig. I is a front elevation in perspective, of j a single pane of glass for the outside of a window with bottom ventilator. i Fig. II is a section on the line 2+2 of Fig. showing plan view of the ventilator. Fig; III is a section at3v3, of Fig. I, showing the reduction in swell or bulge or bend "of thepane surface. 1 Fig. IV is a vertical section on the middle ofthe pane,.and

details of ventilator.

Fig. V is a plan View on larger scale, of the shiftable ventilator portion of the pane in opened position.

Fig. VI is a plan view of a modified form of the shiftableventilator element of the pane. r

Fig VII is an elevationof a section of a window, showing the ventilating pane inserted in a framing of metal muntins. I

Fig. VIII is aninside view in perspective of a double-hung window sash showing the glass ventilator pane inserted in .the top.- sash, withventilating opening at the bottom and a pane in the bottom sash with thexcrown of the glassbent inward and the ventilating shutters or slides on the top. I 1

' Fig. IX is a vertical section in the middle; of a pane having both outer and innerv offsets for bottom and top ventilators,'showing pane,but"

the window panes 1. Fig.

embodies my invention having the glass crowned or bulging outward a sufficient extent at the bottom to provide a gap between the muntin at the bottom into which is secured he ventilator opening downward, and therefore inaccessible to ingress of falling rain, but with the gap spanned by a ventilating shutter With means of manipulation from the inside of the window. None of the structure interferes with the movement of the inside sash, nor does it project downward enough to interfere with shutters, nor does it provide any fragile or otherwise objectionable excrescence on the outside that would be liable to injury or to damage by weather.

In the lower sash a pane 3 contains the invention and has the bulge or crowning bent inward, so that the gap between the upper edge of the pane 3 is a horizontal aperture which is shielded by the muntin 4 against in gress of weather, and still provides the advantageous support of a ventilating shutter 5 which is substantially horizontal and therefore non-leaking, but accessible from i member the inside of the window for opening and closing. This pane 3 bulging inward in no way interferes with the movement of the sash, and as more particularly hereinafter described it in no way interferes with visibility or light.

As shown in Figs. I to IV, the window pane 2 comprises the glass plate 6 with the metallic cap or edging 7 on three sides of the glass, and with a corresponding cap or bar 8 straight across the lower side, and a cap or edging 9 on the lower bulging edge of the lass. Horizontal strips 10 extend between the cap 9 and the member 8, and are permanently secured to both and may support the partial closure plate 11, and together supportthe shutter members 12 and 13. The metalcap 9 preferably has a groove 14 into which the outer edge of the sliding shutter 13 fits when the ventilator is closed. Its manipulation is effected by a suitable knob 15, or any other readily shifting means which will not protrude in any way to interfere with the operation of the window, nor be an objectionable excrescence to in any way interfere with visibility, and which may also embody any suitable device to rigidly lock or clamp the ventilating members open or closed, which I prefer to accomplish by tightfitting parts.

he pane 6, as shown in Figs. II, III and IV, has a lateral bulge in the lower portion, and this I provide by bending the pane, namely, sheet window glass, and it may readily be accomplished by crowning the glass when hot so as to give a gradual bend as the crown portion merges in the flat portion of the pane. thereby eliminating any sharp angle, and entirely avoiding anv corners or abrupt recesses in the surface of the glass, which I do for various reasons. Such a gradual bend in the glass in the first place sheds the water when the bulge is on the outside, it avoids any accumulation of dust and dirt, it permits the washing of the pane of glass the same as an ordinary flat pane, and it avoids entirely any refraction or visibility interference in the material of the glass,-thereby assuring clear visibility and the maintenance of clear visibility, and a clean, perfectly watershed.di.ng pane, thus maintaining the one hundred per cent. visibility and light characteristics of an ordinary pane of glass.

This bulge 6 is of a sufficient extent to offset the lower edge, and the extreme lower edge of the glass in the horizontal plane of the muntin, so that the cap and ventilator mechanism is in the line of vision of the muntin. The exact curvature of the glass may be varied to suit different conditions and the extent of ventilator area desired, but the curvature is gradual from the fiat portion of the glass and leaves the sides of the glass pane near the bottom in their normal flat plane, so that the sides from top to bottom of the pane fit into the straight muntins eX- actly the same as an ordinary pane of glass.

The glass plate can be made with the re quired bulge curvature, and may thereafter be cut to size leaving the bulged end of the plate extending fully to the horizontal plane of that margin of the ordinary pane of glass so that the field of glass of the bulged pane will extend throughout the aperture between the muntins framing or sash into which it is assembled.

In the ventilator modified form shown in Fig. VI, the lower horizontal members serve to engage the bulged lower edge of the pane, and also provide the straight transverse member in the sameplane as the other three sides or edges of the pane, and having the space provided by the offset of the pane glass spanned by the shutter members 16-l6 as a grid or slotted plate, with a movable grid 17 shiftable a limited degreed to either close the openings in 16, or to have the openings in both plates register and provide for the passage of air for ventilation.

It will be apparent that the particular forms of construction shown and described may be varied, there may be more or less metal capping, the ventilating pane may readily apply to wood muntin, or may be inserted in metal muntin, and may be puttied, or in any other approved form secured in position. 7

It will be understood that the construc tion shown in Fig. IX lends itself particularly to casement windows, or other forms not having close parallel-sliding sashes. The pane 19 is oflset toward the outside with the bulge 1-9 at the bottom, and offset to the inside with the bulge 19 at the top, while the frame edge 18 still is. rectangular throughout the field and forms the periphery of the ventilator pane so that it fits into the muntins and may be readily secured and sealed exactly the same as a plain pane. 1

These bulges or excrescences or offsets formed in the glass may of course vary in shape. Depending upon the area for admission of air, the shape of the ofliset edge either top or bottom, to provide a horizontal gap for the ventilator mechanism, may be curved or generally rectangular at the end of the pane, but preferably has a curvature throughout to prevent the accumulation of dust, to assure washing conveniently, and in all with a formation of surface that insures the visibility and the entrance of light throughout the pane. In particular, this is distinguished from any construction involving cutting out a portion of the pane with the attachment of ventilator parts, all of which would bar light and interfere with visibility within the field of the space occupied by the pane between the muntin edges, and would be defective in other respects, such as leakage, durability and liability to breakage. The particular ventilating means shown and described may, of course, be varied, and in some cases I prefer to use glass-plate or plates to span the gap. Also, as shown in Fig. IX, the lower and upper ventilator arrangement may be combined in a single pane, while still having the complete unit pane in form as an article ready for insertion in the muntins and secured in the usual way, as by'puttying.

WVhile in its most accessible form it is adapted for use as one of a plurality of small panes in sashes of standard window construction, it thereby provides an article of commerce which may be readily and economically embodied in new construction work, and, on the other hand, as a. standard size pane it may be substituted in any and all old house construction by simply removing the ordinary fiat plate of glass and substituting in the muntins the ventilating pane without any change whatsoever.

I am aware that it has been heretofore proposed to employ a box-like structure composed of a plurality of differently shaped parts of flat window glass set in an elaborate window or metal structure to produce a ventilating air passage, and that it has also been proposed to employ a built-up assembly formed of a plurality of strips of thick pressed glass to form a composite free-ven- I tilating structure when these have been ce-' mented into a window frame, but these prior art structures lack the unimpaired visibility and simplicity of my invention which also produces a simple, weatherproof, standardized unit which can be cheaply made in a shop by methods of quantity production and sold to the trade to be installed easily by a glazier in any window frame having openings of usual sizes, and in the same manner as an ordinary, fiat pane would be set therein.

As to size, quality of glass and other details of construction, various modifications may be made without departing from my invention, but what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A window pane of a size to fillone entire space in a window frame, comprising a sheet of window glass or like transparent material with at least two edges lying in the same plane and having a crowned or bulged area tapering down to an unbulged portion of the pane from an offset edge one end of said pane, thereby providing a ventilation aperture, combined with means to control the passage of air through said aperture formed y the offset edge of said pane.

2. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which the edge of another end of said pane, and a portion thereof adjacent said end edge, also lie in the same plane as the first two mentioned edges.

3, A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said ventilating means comprises a frame curved to fit the offset edge of said bulged out portion of said pane and a movable shutter mounted in said frame.

4. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said ventilating means comprises aframe having one side curved to fit the offset edge of said bulged out portion of said pane and a movable shutter mounted in said frame, said frame being also extended up along the side edges of the pane to a substan-- tial extent; whereby said pane may be firmly gripped and held by said frame.

5. A window pane of a size to fill one entire space in a window frame, comprising a sheet of window glass or like transparent material having at least two edges lying in the same plane and having a crowned or bulged area toward one end gradually tapering down to the fiat area of the sheet of glass, the other end of said bulged portion forming an offset edge from the plane of the pane at that edge of the pane, combined with a curved frame secured to said offset edge of the pane and which said frame is curved to merge its eX-' tremities into the same plane in which the other edges of the pane lie, whereby the ends of said offset edge frame and the two adjacent edges of the pane lie flat in the window frame for ready attachment in the ordinary manner.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this application this 17th day of July, 1928.

WARREN R. MOMANN. 

